US 9,428,986 B2 · Disintegrating plug for subterranean treatment use

Abstract

A disintegrating plug uses a setting tool to push a swage into the plug body that has external ribs that contact the wall of the surrounding tubular. The ribs retain the body to the surrounding tubular wall with frictional contact. Some leakage may ensue but in fracturing some leakage does not matter if enough volume under the right pressure reaches the formation. The sheared member during the setting comes out with the mandrel that is part of the setting tool. In an alternative embodiment one or more o-rings are used to seal while anchoring is assisted by the hardened insert(s) that can be snap fitted in using rib flexing or that can be a c-ring that is expanded and snapped in. The o-ring(s) are axially spaced from the insert(s).

Claims24

Dependent claims

A treatment method at a subterranean location against a tubular wall, comprising:

running in a plug made entirely of at least one disintegrating material to a predetermined subterranean location on a setting tool further comprising a setting tool mandrel;
positioning said setting tool mandrel in slidable contact with a cone for an anchoring feature;
setting the plug by relative movement of said setting tool mandrel with respect to said cone for radially expanding said anchoring feature by relative axial movement of said anchoring feature with respect to said cone when said setting tool mandrel is in contact with said cone;
removing said setting tool from the subterranean location;
performing the treatment operation with a differential pressure acting on said set plug;
disintegrating said plug to completely remove it from the tubular after said performing the treatment operation without milling.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Disintegrating plug for subterranean treatment use

Life of this patent

Disintegrating plug for subterranean treatment use

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims24